Cohabitation Solicitor

Cohabitation Solicitors

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Rose & Rose

Cohabiting Couples Rights

Over 3 million UK couples currently cohabit without getting married or entering civil partnerships. Unfortunately, the law has so far failed to catch up with 21st Century life and cohabiting couples’ rights are still limited at best.

Many couples choose to cohabit under the misguided presumption that the terms of ‘common-law marriage’ will protect their interests. Unfortunately, ‘common-law marriage’ simply does not exist.

Understanding Your Rights as a Cohabiting Couple

In England and Wales, cohabiting partners do not have:

Property Rights: If you are living with your partner but your name is not on the property deeds, you have no automatic rights to stay in the home in the event of your partner’s death. Even if you lived there for years or contributed to mortgage payments and household bills.
Inheritance Rights: Without a Will in place, there are no automatic rights to inherit your partner’s estate, even if you have children together.
Financial Support: There is no right to claim financial support from your partner if you separate. The only exception is through child maintenance arrangements if you have children.
Tax Benefits: You will not be entitled to any of the tax reliefs/exemptions enjoyed by spouses or civil partners. This includes pensions.

Limited Legal Protections That Do Exist

There is a little help available under English & Welsh law, but this help is somewhat restricted. These protections include:

For Children: Financial provision for the children (under the age of 18) of cohabitants is provided by Schedule 1 of the 1989 Children Act.
Joint Property Ownership: If you both own the property and this is registered at the Land Registry, you will both be entitled to your share. If, however, one partner is reluctant to put the property up for sale, the other partner may have to get a court order for it to be sold.
Property Contributions: If you have made significant contributions to a property you don’t legally own (such as paying for renovations or contributing to the mortgage), establishing a claim under trust law or TOLATA may be possible.
Provision for Dependants: If you were financially dependent on your partner and they die without a Will or without leaving you anything in their Will, you may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

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The Risks of Not Protecting Yourself

Without proper legal protection, you face serious risks.

If your name is not on a rental agreement or property deed, you are not automatically entitled to stay in your home. You may be asked to leave your home and left with nothing even if you have put money into it by, for example, helping with the mortgage or deposit, paying bills, etc.
If you had children together, one of you would be obligated to support the children, but not to support the other partner. This could make supporting their family difficult for the latter.

How Cohabiting Couples Can Protect Their Interests

If it is not an option to get married or enter into a civil partnership, there are still a few precautions you can take to protect yourself. These include:

Cohabitation Agreement – Setting out your agreed intentions for matters like arrangements for children, property and finances in case you separate, a cohabitation agreement may cover anything from how to support a partner who gave up a career to care for children to who gets your pet.

Declaration of Trust – Setting out how and in what shares you wish to own a property; a declaration of trust can also cover your intentions in the event of separation. If you purchase a property together but do not contribute equal shares, it can, for example, ensure each partner gets back a fair portion of what they have put into the property. Provision of a loan to cover the deposit by one of you may, for instance, be recorded to ensure they get the money back if you split up and sell the property.

Will – Unless it is spelled out within a will, you will not be automatically entitled to inherit their share of possessions/property if your partner dies. Even if you have cohabited in a joint property for decades, without your name on the property’s deed or being named as the beneficiary within a will, you could lose your home and any rights to the proceeds of a sale thereof. We can provide you with a fixed fee for this service so you will know exactly what costs you will need to pay.

Review Your Arrangements Regularly – Your circumstances can change over time. If you have children, buy a property together, or financial contributions change, you should review your legal protections to make sure they still fit your situation.

What Is the Cohabitation Rights Bill?

The UK’s Cohabitation Rights Bill has been proposed to give long-term cohabiting couples some basic legal protections. However, due to significant opposition to this reform, with some critics saying it might undermine marriage and civil partnerships, there are no details on when this law (if it ever does) will pass. Until then, cohabiting couples must take active steps to protect themselves.

Getting Specialist Advice

If you would like more detailed information on your rights as a cohabiting couple and/or need legal advice concerning your best options in the event of something unforeseen happening, please do not hesitate to contact a member or email info@roselegal.co.uk to arrange an initial consultation to discuss the best way forward for you and we will provide you with further and specific advice tailored to your circumstances.

Our experienced and understanding team are here to help you. We will work with you to ensure the best possible outcome.

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Financing your legal fees

We understand that the cost of legal proceedings can be a concern, particularly when circumstances change unexpectedly. For eligible clients, funding may be available through Untangled, a specialist provider of family law loans. Their funding can be used towards legal fees, helping you access the legal support you need without having to meet the full cost upfront. Applications are subject to eligibility, status and affordability checks, and approval is not guaranteed. If you would like to find out whether funding could be an option for you, speak to a member of our team.

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Ampla Consumer Finance Limited, trading as Untangled, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit (FRN 792153). Credit is subject to status and affordability checks. Terms and conditions apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, “common law marriage” does not exist in England and Wales, regardless of how long you have lived together. Whether you have been partners for 2 years or 20 years, you do not have the same legal rights as married couples or civil partners. The only way to gain those rights is though marriage, civil partnership, or by putting in place proper legal documents. Read some of our articles for related information:

Unlike divorce, where the court can divide assets between spouses, cohabiting couples generally keep (or are legally entitled to) what is in their own name. If you have contributed financially to a property that is in your partner’s name, you may be able to make a claim under trust law or TOLATA, but you will need to prove these contributions. For unmarried couples, putting in place a Cohabitation Agreement from the start is crucial in protecting your best interests.

If the property is in your partner’s sole name and the property has not been left to you in their Will, you have no automatic right to inherit it or remain in the home. Without a Will, or without you being named in the Will, the property would pass according to intestacy rules, which favour blood relatives over cohabiting partners. If you were financial dependent on your partner, you may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance Act, but this involves court proceedings and a claim isn’t guaranteed to succeed.

Yes. If you have children together, you have the same rights for financial child support whether you were married or not. You can claim child maintenance through the Child Maintenance Service, and you may also be able to make claims under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 for financial provision for the children.

A Cohabitation Agreement is a legal document that sets out the broader aspects of your relationship, including how you’ll share bills, what happens to savings, possessions, and other assets if you split up, and arrangements for children or pets. A Declaration of Trust specifically deals with property ownership. This document records who owns what share of a property and what should happen to it if you separate or if one of you dies. While these documents serve different purposes, they are complementary and ideally cohabiting couples should have both in place, particularly when buying a property together.